West may get new rail line

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MELBOURNE'S suburban train network may get its first major
extension in almost 80 years, with a new rail line through the
transport-starved west believed to be a key element of plans to
improve links between eastern and western suburbs.

Transport and infrastructure supremo Sir Rod Eddington's study,
due for release next week, is believed to include a rail link
between Werribee and Deer Park, via Tarneit.

The line  which experts estimate could cost as much as
$500 million  would run through new housing estates and
paddocks earmarked for development. It would ease crowding on
trains and provide much-needed public transport for Melbourne's
west and north-west, including Caroline Springs.

Two weeks ago The Age revealed the Eddington report would
also include a rail tunnel linking Footscray and Caulfield under
the central city, a controversial east-west road tunnel linking the
Eastern Freeway with the western suburbs, and improved bus services
to Doncaster.

The East-West Link Needs Assessment study, which began in March
last year, has shifted its original focus on Melbourne's east and
inner north to the public transport-starved west.

Senior Government figures say the single biggest challenge for
Sir Rod has been gridlock on the West Gate Bridge, caused in a
large part by massive population growth in the western suburbs.

The traffic-choked bridge now carries 160,000 cars a day, up
from 40,000 when it opened in 1978.

Census figures for 2006 show the west has grown much faster than
the Government expected, with an additional 57,000 people since
2001 in Melton and Wyndham, which takes in Werribee and Hoppers
Crossing.

Almost 20% of Wyndham residents commute to the central business
district for work, yet only a small number use public
transport.

The proposed new line  known by some as the Tarneit line
 was identified in the State Government's 2006 Meeting Our
Transport Challenges strategy as a possible long-term rail
option.

Government transport bureaucrats believe the Tarneit rail
extension would free up capacity for trains on the Werribee and
Williamstown lines and ease bottlenecks at Newport and Footscray
stations, where both train lines vie for priority.

It would complement a new underground rail "spine"  also
in the Eddington report  likely to link Footscray and
Caulfield at a cost of $7 billion to $8 billion.

The Wyndham Council has pushed for the line for years. Chief
executive Ian Robbins welcomed the prospect of a new rail line, but
said it would not solve the area's transport problems. Some
transport experts were "putting their head in the sand" by ignoring
the need for more road capacity, he said.

Melbourne Transport Forum head Jackie Fristacky said the western
suburbs were in dire need of more public transport but cautioned
Sir Rod against neglecting the eastern suburbs.

The Forum, a local government transport lobby, has given Public
Transport Minister Lynne Kosky a 7000-signature petition demanding
the Government build a rail extension to Doncaster.